Who should I follow to learn about Platform engineering?

If you want to get genuinely good at **platform engineering**, I’d follow a mix of practitioners, researchers, and people who focus on the product/organizational side - not just Kubernetes influencers. ### My shortlist - **Luca Galante** - Probably my **#1 follow for getting oriented**. He focuses specifically on platform engineering, IDPs, platform-as-a-product, and industry trends. He also writes *Platform Weekly* and hosts PlatformCon. [Luca Galante - Platform Engineering](https://platformengineering.org/authors/luca-galante-a4482?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Kelsey Hightower** - Excellent for understanding the underlying cloud-native concepts and, importantly, *why* platforms should hide complexity rather than expose more of it. He remains a prominent PlatformCon speaker. [Live Day New York | PlatformCon 2026](https://2026.platformcon.com/live-day-nyc?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Camille Fournier** - Follow for engineering organizations, technical leadership, team boundaries, and the human side of building platforms. PlatformCon has featured her specifically in its platform-engineering community. [Speakers](https://2025.platformcon.com/speakers?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Kaspar von Grünberg** - Particularly useful for **platform-as-a-product, adoption, developer experience, and organizational strategy**. His PlatformCon talks explicitly address platform adoption and the relationship between infrastructure and DevEx. [Engage with Inspiring Speakers | PlatformCon Talks](https://2024.platformcon.com/talks?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Nicki Watt** - Good if you want the architecture and enterprise perspective, including platform maturity. [Engage with Inspiring Speakers | PlatformCon Talks](https://2024.platformcon.com/talks?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Nathen Harvey** - Follow if you're interested in **measuring whether your platform actually improves engineering performance**, rather than merely shipping an internal tool. [The impact of platform engineering](https://2024.platformcon.com/live-sessions/the-impact-of-platform-engineering?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### Also follow the communities - **Platform Engineering** - Their site has a large collection of talks, courses, reference material, and an active Slack community. [The global home for Platform Engineers](https://platformengineering.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **PlatformCon** - Probably the single best content feed to follow. The 2026 program has talks covering IDPs, GitOps, platform product thinking, developer experience, AI platforms, cost, security, and platform maturity. [Program | PlatformCon 2026](https://2026.platformcon.com/program?utm_source=chatgpt.com) - **Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)** - Especially useful once you want to understand the underlying ecosystem rather than just the "platform engineering" abstraction. CNCF's Platform Engineering Day focuses on real-world platform case studies, DevEx, APIs, and platform maturity. [KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2025 Co-Located Event Deep Dive: Platform Engineering Day | CNCF](https://www.cncf.io/blog/2025/10/17/kubecon-cloudnativecon-north-america-2025-co-located-event-deep-dive-platform-engineering-day/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ### If I were starting today I'd go in this order: 1. **Luca Galante** → learn the vocabulary and mental models. 2. **PlatformCon talks** → see how real teams implement platforms. 3. **Kelsey Hightower** → strengthen your cloud-native fundamentals. 4. **Kaspar von Grünberg + Camille Fournier** → learn platform product thinking and organizational design. 5. **CNCF** → go deep on Kubernetes, GitOps, observability, networking, security, etc. The big trap is learning platform engineering as **"Kubernetes + Backstage + Terraform."** The more important question is: **what capabilities should a platform provide to developers, and how do you make those capabilities self-service, reliable, and pleasant to use?** Current PlatformCon material increasingly frames the discipline around unified delivery platforms and developer experience rather than simply assembling DevOps tools. [Platform engineering in 2026: From toolchains to intelligent delivery platforms | PlatformCon 2026](https://2026.platformcon.com/sessions/platform-engineering-in-2026-from-toolchains-to-intelligent-delivery-platforms?utm_source=chatgpt.com) If you tell me whether you're **a software engineer, DevOps/SRE, architect, or engineering manager**, I can give you a much tighter **10-person follow list + 30-day learning path**.

**Follow these experts and communities to learn platform engineering effectively:** Start with _Kaspar von Grünberg_ and _Luca Galante_ from PlatformEngineering.org, then add pioneers like _Patrick Debois_ (DevOpsDays founder) and _Nicole Forsgren_ (DORA/Accelerate). For practical insights, follow _Camille Fournier_ (author of _Platform Engineering: A Guide for Technical, Product, and People Leaders_) and _Charity Majors_ (Honeycomb.io). ## 🌟 Key People to Follow Name| Role / Contribution| Why Follow ---|---|--- **Kaspar von Grünberg**| Founder of PlatformEngineering.org, coined _Internal Developer Platform (IDP)_| Early pioneer, deep insights into platform strategy and scale [Leadership - Platform Engineering Consulting](https://pec.platformengineering.org/leadership) **Luca Galante**| Managing Director at PlatformEngineering.org, host of PlatformCon| Runs the largest PE community (300k+ members), publishes _Platform Weekly_ [Leadership - Platform Engineering Consulting](https://pec.platformengineering.org/leadership) **Ajay Chankramath**| CTO, Platform Engineering Consulting| Author of _Effective Platform Engineering_ and _Platform Engineer’s Handbook_ [Leadership - Platform Engineering Consulting](https://pec.platformengineering.org/leadership) **Patrick Debois**| Founder of DevOpsDays, coined “DevOps”| Shares foundational thinking on DevOps and platform culture [Top DevOps and Platform Eng Influencers | Firefly](https://www.firefly.ai/blog/top-influencers-to-follow-for-devops-and-platform-engineering) **Nicole Forsgren**| Co-author of _Accelerate_ , DORA research| Evidence-based insights on DevOps and platform productivity [Top DevOps and Platform Eng Influencers | Firefly](https://www.firefly.ai/blog/top-influencers-to-follow-for-devops-and-platform-engineering) **Camille Fournier**| Author of _Platform Engineering: A Guide for Technical, Product, and People Leaders_| Practical advice on org design and platform leadership [The Top Engineering Voices to Follow in 2025 - Jellyfish](https://jellyfish.co/blog/the-top-engineering-voices-to-follow-in-2025/) **Charity Majors**| Co-founder & CTO of Honeycomb.io| Writes on observability and resilient systems [The Top Engineering Voices to Follow in 2025 - Jellyfish](https://jellyfish.co/blog/the-top-engineering-voices-to-follow-in-2025/) **Gene Kim**| Author of _The Phoenix Project_, _The Unicorn Project_| Bridges DevOps culture with enterprise adoption [Top DevOps and Platform Eng Influencers | Firefly](https://www.firefly.ai/blog/top-influencers-to-follow-for-devops-and-platform-engineering) **Viktor Farcic**| Creator of DevOps Toolkit (YouTube)| Hands-on demos of cloud-native and platform tooling [Top DevOps and Platform Eng Influencers | Firefly](https://www.firefly.ai/blog/top-influencers-to-follow-for-devops-and-platform-engineering) **Nana Janashia (TechWorld with Nana)**| YouTube educator| Accessible DevOps and platform engineering tutorials [Top DevOps and Platform Eng Influencers | Firefly](https://www.firefly.ai/blog/top-influencers-to-follow-for-devops-and-platform-engineering) ## 📚 Communities & Resources * **PlatformEngineering.org** – Largest global community, hosts _PlatformCon_ and publishes _Platform Weekly_. * **DevOpsDays** – Grassroots conferences where platform engineering ideas often emerge. * **Arrested DevOps Podcast** – Hosted by Bridget Kromhout & Matty Stratton, long-running discussions on DevOps/PE. * **The Pragmatic Engineer** – Long-form writing on engineering orgs and platform effectiveness [20 Must-Follow Engineering Thought Leaders | StandIn | StandIn](https://www.standin.co/blog/must-follow-engineering-thought-leaders). ## ⚠️ Risks & Considerations * **Buzzword overload**: Platform engineering overlaps with DevOps, SRE, and Developer Experience. Not every “platform” leader is equally credible - focus on those with hands-on experience. * **Vendor bias**: Some influencers are tied to specific tools or companies. Balance their insights with community-driven sources like PlatformEngineering.org. * **Rapid evolution**: Practices shift quickly; following active practitioners (e.g., Viktor Farcic, Nana Janashia) ensures you stay current with tooling and workflows. 👉 If you’re starting out, I’d recommend following **Kaspar von Grünberg, Luca Galante, and Camille Fournier** for strategic leadership, then **Patrick Debois, Nicole Forsgren, and Charity Majors** for cultural and organizational insights, and finally **Viktor Farcic and TechWorld with Nana** for hands-on technical learning. Would you like me to curate a **step-by-step learning path** (books, talks, communities, and practical projects) so you can move from beginner to advanced in platform engineering?

To stay on top of platform engineering trends, best practices, and community insights, you should follow these key practitioners, creators, and organizations driving the space forward: * **Luca Galante** – Co-author of the Platform Engineering community and a primary voice defining what platform engineering is beyond just rebranded DevOps. He shares frequent insights on internal developer portals (IDPs) and platform team structures. * **Manuel Pais** – Co-author of _Team Topologies_ , a foundational text for platform engineering. His work focuses on how platform teams interact with stream-aligned development teams to reduce cognitive load. * **Matthew Skelton** – The other co-author of _Team Topologies_. He regularly writes and speaks on software operability, team organization, and building effective platform dynamics. * **Evan Bottcher** – A principal consultant at Thoughtworks who has written extensively on digital platforms, self-service infrastructure, and treating platforms as products. * **Kaspar von Grünberg** – CEO of Humanitec and a prominent advocate for internal developer platforms. He frequently shares practical advice on architecture and implementation patterns. * **Abdel Sghiouar** – Senior Cloud Advocate at Google and a fantastic follow for practical, technical content around Kubernetes, cloud-native tooling, and platform architecture. * **Dan Garfield** – Chief Open Source Officer at Codefresh/Harness, known for accessible breakdowns of GitOps, CI/CD, and platform tooling ecosystems. ### Essential Communities & Organizations * **Platform Engineering (platformengineering.org)** – The premier community hub for the discipline, featuring articles, newsletters, and the annual PlatformCon conference. * **CNCF (Cloud Native Computing Foundation)** – Home to many core platform engineering tools (Crossplane, Backstage, ArgoCD) and working groups discussing cloud-native application delivery. * **Humanitec Community** – A great practitioner-focused community specifically centered around implementing Internal Developer Platforms. ### Key Podcasts & Newsletters * **The Platform Engineering Podcast** – Deep dives into real-world platform engineering stories, migrations, and architecture choices from industry leaders. * **The InfoQ Engineering Culture Newsletter / Podcast** – Excellent for high-level organizational patterns and team topology discussions. Who are you hoping to learn from most - industry practitioners sharing high-level strategy, or hands-on engineers diving into specific tools like Backstage or Crossplane?

To truly understand platform engineering - moving beyond just the cloud/DevOps hype into treating internal developer platforms (IDPs) as real products - you should follow a mix of top community builders, enterprise thinkers, and tactical practitioners. [Luca Galante - Platform Engineering](https://platformengineering.org/authors/luca-galante)[Platform Engineering • Ajay Chankramath & Nic Cheneweth - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDTKhis5vD4)[Effective Platform Engineering - Build Scalable Developer](https://effectiveplatformengineering.com/) The top figures, communities, and resources to follow include: * ** _Luca Galante_** – Managing Director at Weave Intelligence and the host/organizer of **PlatformCon**. He writes **Platform Weekly** , one of the most widely read newsletters in the space, and is fantastic for high-level strategy, team topologies, and enterprise metrics. You can catch his insights and updates on the Platform Engineering Official Website. [Luca Galante - Weave Intelligence // PlatformCon // Platform](https://it.linkedin.com/in/luca-galante) * **Nic Cheneweth & _Ajay Chankramath_** – Nic is a Principal Technologist at ThoughtWorks and Ajay is the CEO of Platformetrics. Together with their co-authors, they wrote _**_Effective Platform Engineering_**_. Follow them for deep dives into API-first design, control planes, and treating platforms with a strict product mindset. [YouTube·GOTO Conferences +2] * ** _Paula Kennedy_** – A prominent voice focusing on the practical, day-to-day realities of implementing platforms, managing feedback loops, and driving developer adoption without forcing heavy-handed top-down mandates. [From big dreams to practical steps - Paula Kennedy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O7barNr9G4&t=10) * ** _Kelsey Hightower_** – While legendary for his Kubernetes advocacy, his independent advisory insights on cloud architecture, simplicity, and abstracting infrastructure away from application developers remain foundational for platform engineers. [Follow these 25 creators for diverse perspectives on software](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/abdirahman-sj_softwareengineering-growth-learning-activity-7360964766284070915-tggX)[Top Influencers to Follow for DevOps and Platform Engineering](https://www.firefly.ai/blog/top-influencers-to-follow-for-devops-and-platform-engineering) * ** _Patrick Debois_ & _Andrew Clay Shafer_** – As original co-founders of the DevOpsDays movement, their historical and modern perspectives on bridging the gap between operations and development are invaluable context for why platform engineering exists today. Key Communities & Hubs to Bookmark 1. Platform Engineering Org – The central community hub featuring articles, case studies, and resources. 2. PlatformCon – The premier annual virtual conference capturing tactical talks from enterprise platform teams. 3. **Arrested DevOps Podcast** (hosted by Bridget Kromhout and Matty Stratton) – Excellent audio archives and ongoing episodes touching heavily on platform culture and tooling. [Platform Engineering Org +2] Are you looking to learn platform engineering from a **high-level architectural/strategy perspective** , or do you need **hands-on technical guidance** (like setting up Backstage, Kubernetes control planes, or Terraform)?